Automobile door latch



May 6, 1930. M, MQDO 1,757,916

AUTOMOBILE DOOR LATCH Filed May 31, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l F'", f e, z

77 4. r/Eg' gwuemtov Mz c'heZ Mada May 6, 1930. M. MODO AUTOMOBILE DOOR LATCH ,Filed May 31. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 g'rwmtoz Mz'clzel Mada Patented May 6, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MICHEL M0130, F LUXEMBURG-VILLE, LUXEMBURG AUTOMOBILE DOOR LATCH Application filed May 31, 1927, Serial No. 195,546.

The present invention relates to latches Fig. 3 is an elevation of the opposite end of and has more particular reference to latches the latch from that shown in Fig. 2. used on automobile doors or forlike purposes. Fig. '4: is a sectional transverse view of the A primary object of the invention is to same on the plane indicated by the line 4-4 5 provide a latch utilizable on automobile of Fig. 1. 5.6

doors and adapted to ensure a very reliable Fig. 5 is a plan of the same with the. lever fastening of such doors even in the case of L shown in section. prolonged vibrations of the door as for eX- Fig. 6 is an elevation of the latch, partly ample when the automobile travels on a in section, and with the casing plate removed, bumpy road for a long time. and showing the latch in closed position. A further object of the invention is to pr-o- Fig. 7 is a similar view with the keeper revide a latch utilizable on automobile doors moved, showing the parts in released posiand having such an improved structure as to tion automatically bring a door of that type to its Fig. 8 is a horizontal sectional view of the securely fastened position under the repeated plane indicated by line 88 of Fig. 6. vibrations of said door should the latter hap- Flg- 9 1S a smaller view on the plane inclipen to have been only partly closed. ed by the llne 99 of Fig. 7.

A. still further object of the invention is to Fig. 10 is a similar view of the plane indiprovide a latch utilizable on automobile doors dhy line IO1O of Fig. 7. and having such an improved structure as to k reference ha ers sign e l k automatically take up any play of the door in parts throughout the several views. th l run In sa1d figures, A is the bolt or peculiar A still further object of the invention is pe, B 1 l h ase, C, G are screws to provide a latch utilizable on automobile f g h a le pivots on which the bolt W doors and so structured as to securely hold a A '9 y mounted ly the p P of door of that type in three directions, to wit: the P Q f threadedthe p of the sidewise, lengthwise and heightwise, bolt the P P n 111 t0 18 w i A still further object of the invention is to conmlns p Whlch 13 we to m provide alatch utilizable on automobile doors back h bolt to P1 posltlona and adapted to relieve the doors of that type detent' firmly holdms 1n P l P0$1t10 11 of the greater part of their wear and tear an L'shaped W Pg i p g while preventing any rattling thereof. Cal 189 d ildaptedfio mammln the l A 111 A Still further Object of the invention is to closed position. Said wedge has a horizontal provide a latch utilizable on automobile doors arm 9, Provided with an illcllate Slot 9'- H a.

and so constructed as to leave a clearance 15 lever .used for hftmgffihe Wedge G; K is a around such doors whereby many disadvanq'p l g provlded Wlth a Sq tages, such for instance as jamming effects openmg 5 h m of an P due to the expansion of wood of which the h w) Oitne 3 1 alevel' Whlch 1n P 40 doors are usually made, are avoided tlce is actuated byan 1nner knob of the door,

With these and such other objects in view and'M i the keeper T the bolt A i as will incidentally appear hereafter, the inadapted to ee vention comprises the novel construction, The peratlon of the latch is as follows: combination and arrangement of parts that In the closed pOSillOIl the bOlfi A is engaged will now be fully described with reference to 111 its recess 1', and cannot move in the opening or the accompanying drawing forming a part direction, because of the engagement of the of same and wherein conical wedge G between the heel e of the bolt Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a latch conandv the lock caseB. structed in accordance with my invention. In order to disengage the heel e, the Wedge g- 2 i an e leva on of the ame. G has to be lifted above the heel, so as to allow this latter to turn freely underneath the wedge.

The lifting of the wedge G which sets free the heel (2 may be accomplished either by the side lever K or the upper lever L (see Fi By turning one of these two levers the central lever I enters into a balancing movement, which determines an ascending movement of the stud e, which by sliding in the slot 9, raises the wedge G leaning on N (Fig. against the latch and guided on the other hand through a vertical groove 3 by means of a heel O.

The wedge G is now in its top or lifted posi- By pushing milling the door a little, 1 order to open it, a slight clearance is left on h lateral side of the door, so that the detent D is freed a little and the small heel 0 of its rod (which is moved forward by a spring P) engages into a recess at the bottom of the wedge G and prevents this latter from sliding down while the knob which operates the part K is brought back in its previous position by the pull-back spring 71 (Fi 7). By opening the door the bolt A. rotates slightly round its pivots C, actuated also by the spring S which brings back to its extreme open position the bolt A and so removes the heel e underneath the wedge G.

This latter comes so to stand with its little tongue 0 on the heel e, when the bolt A is in its largest open angular position.

Owing to this spring S, the following incident is prevented: The door being open, the latch D might be incidentally pushed inside so that the wedge G would by this fact be freed and slide down between the heel and the latch case B and so wedge up the heel e and thus prevent the closing of the door. However this case does not occur, because the wedge, even if not supported by the detent D, rests on the heel and is sustained in this position of the open bolt by means of the spring S.

The detent D maintains the wedge G in its raised position in the case where the door is open and the bolt might have been incident ally turned in the closing direction (in which case the heel 6 would no longer support the wedge).

By pushing the door in the closing direction (Fig. 9) the guide f bends over an and makes the bolt A turn towards its recess 1". The heel 0 passes underneath the Wedge G (Fig. 2). The detent D, which supports the wedge G by its small heel 0", (Fig. 9), in raised position, abuts against the Wall of the keeper M while the door is being closed. Being in this way pushed backwards the heel 0 no longer retains the wedge. Before the door is completely closed, being ajar by 12 mm., the wedge G does not rest on the heel a, but pushed by the spring t (Fig. 7) it falls down, guided by its heel 0 (Fig. 6) along a suitable groove y (Fig. 3). The

wedge being in this manner located between the heel e of the bolt A and the latch case B prevents the heel e from rotating in its recess and by this fact the bolt A is firmly wedged in its closed position.

As soon as the wedge comes to stand behind the heel 6, it begins to fall down, but not immediately down to the bottom, because the door is not completely closed. However the door cannot open now, for as the wedge is conical, with its sharp end turned downwards, the slightest jolting of the car in movement causes it to continue to fall, so that it gradually pushes back the heel e in the closing direction until the bolt A is completely engaged.

It will be appreciated that numerous minor constructional details of the latch might be altered without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

hat I claim is l. A latch for automobile and like doors comprising in combination a case, a pair of adjustablepinssupportedbythecase,a keeper, a bolt pivotally carried by the pins and having a heel portion on one side of its pivoting axis and keeper-engaging portions on. the opposite side, a movable wedge adapted to engage said bolt and hold it in closed position, a detent for retaining the wedge in open posit-ion, spring means for pulling back the bolt, and inner and outer levers for transmittin the knob impulses to the wedge.

2. A latch for automobile and like doors comprising in combination a case fixed to the door, a pair of adjustable pins supported by the case, a bolt pivotally carried by the pins and having a tapering heel portion on one side of its pivoting axis and a pair of keeperengaging portions on the opposite side, an L- shaped wedge movable in the case and having a vertical tapering leg for engaging the heel of the bolt, adetent for holding the wedge in open position, spring means for pulling back the bolt, inner and outer operated levers for transmitting the knob impulses to the wedge, and a keeper fixed to the automobile body adjacent the lock case and having bolt-engageable members.

3. A latch for automobile and like doors comprising in combination a case fixed to the door, a keeper fixed to the automobile body and having a curved bolt-engaging abutment, a pair of adjustable pivot pins supported by the case, a bolt pivotally carried by the pins and having a tapering heel on the rear side of its pivoting axis and two keeperengaging lug portions on the opposite side, one of said lug portions being curved for engaging the abutment of the keeper, an L shaped wedge movable in the lock case and having a vertical tapering leg for engaging the bolt heel and holding the bolt against rotation in closed position and a tongue on a so its horizontal leg, a detent engaging the Wedge tongue for retaining the Wedge in open position, spring means for pulling back the bolt, and inner and outer operated levers for transmitting actuating impulses to the Wedge.

4:. A latch for automobile and like doors comprising in combination a case fixed to the door, a keeper fixed to the adjacent part of the automobile body and having a flaring recess and an abutment engageable by the bolt and a shoulder also engageable by another part of the bolt, a pair of adjustable pins supported by the case, a bolt pivotally carried on both sides by the pins and having a tapering heel on the rear side of its pivoting axis and two keeper-engaging lug portions on the opposite side, one of said lug portions being curved towards the other for engaging the abutment of the keeper Whereas the other one having a flange for engaging the keeper shoulder, an L-shaped Wedge movable in the case and having a vertical tapering leg for engaging the bolt heel and holding the bolt against rotation in closed K position and a tongue on its horizontal leg,

a detent engaging the Wedge tongue for retaining the Wedge in open position, spring means for pulling back the bolt, and inner and outer actuated levers for transmitting the actuating impulses to the wedge.

- MICHEL MODO. 

